PCGamingWiki:Taxonomy

Notes: Taxonomy/Notes

MobyGames Genre Definitions page

Taxonomy

Genres

MobyGames Category	PCGW Category	Definition to be modified	Notes	Examples
Action	Action	Action games main mechanics revolve around one or more of the following: Accuracy Movement Quick Decisions Reflexes Timing This genre is only to be used for games that don't fit in the other action-based basic genres such as Racing/Driving, Role-Playing (RPG) and Sports.		Doom
Adventure	Adventure	Adventure games emphasize experiencing a story through dialogue and puzzle solving. Gameplay mechanics emphasize decision over action. Puzzle solving usually revolves around combining or manipulating items to advance the story. Some sub-genres like visual novels often skip on the puzzle solving and focus fully on interactive narrative. The name Adventure stems from the game Adventure (a.k.a. Colossal Cave), and not to the unrelated film/book genre Adventure.	Notes	The Secret of Monkey Island
Educational	Educational	Educational games try to teach the player through playing. Usually intended for younger children, educational games offer a fun, indirect way to practice "non-fun" subjects like spelling, math, history, etc. Educational games are often called “Edutainment”.	Notes	Jack and Sara: Educational Game
Puzzle	Puzzle	Puzzle games focus purely on solving puzzles usually without much narrative. Puzzles exist in many varieties: strategic, tactical, logical, trivia, word puzzles etc.	Notes	Lyne
Racing / driving	Driving	Racing/Driving games allow the player to race, or drive vehicles in a leisurely manner. Racing can be done in vehicles, on mounts, on foot or in completely abstract graphics. Games with this genre needs to have racing/driving for the majority of the game, not just as a short sequence.	Notes	Lyne
Role-Playing (RPG)	Role-playing game (RPG)	Role-Playing games (RPGs) belong to a wide a varied game genre that focuses on character development. Additional aspects that are often found in RPGs are: Amassing wealth Narrative Tactical combat Character development in RPGs does not necessarily happen as in traditional stories, but means the main character(s) in the game learns new abilities or improves the capabilities of old ones. Character development also includes collecting armament and/or utilities of gradually increasing power.	Notes	Baldur's Gate
Simulation	Simulation	Simulation games can be one of many different types of simulations. What all simulations have in common is that they are more realistically modeled to real life situations and/or variables than most games	Notes	Euro Truck Simulator
Sports	Sports	Sports games are games in which players control either players or managers of a real or fictional sports.	Notes	FIFA 19
Strategy / tactics	Strategy	Strategy/Tactics games revolve around strategic and/or tactical usage of resources often in combat or managerial scenarios.	Notes	XCOM 2

Perspectives

MobyGames Category	PCGW Category	Definition to be modified	Notes	Examples
1st-person	First-person	From the point of view of the first-person.	Notes	Doom
3rd-person (Other)	Third-person	From the point of view of the third-person.	Notes	Gears of War
Bird's-eye view	Bird's-eye view	These games make use of a camera that floats behind a character. The player looks over the shoulder or from behind the back of the main character. The main character does not have to be a human, but can be anything ranging from a racing car to an undefined blob.	Notes
Side view	Side view	These games use a traditional “platforming” viewpoint where the action is seen from the side. This perspective can be used for 2D as well as 3D games, both scrolling and static.	Notes	Katana Zero
Top-down	Top-down view	These games use a top-down view, also called an overhead view or a helicopter view. A top-down view is strict and cannot have any angle at all.	Is this any different to Bird's-eye view?	Ultima VII
Text-based / spreadsheet	Text-based	These games have no graphical viewpoint as they are composed entirely of text or spreadsheets.	Notes	Euro Truck Simulator
Audio game	Audio-based	Audio games have no graphical viewpoint and feature only audio. Audio games can have visuals, but can be played on audio cues alone.	Are there any audio games on PC?

Visual presentation

MobyGames Category	PCGW Category	Definition to be modified	Notes	Examples
2D scrolling	These games' worlds scroll (in any two dimensional direction) either forcedly, or because the camera follows a certain character or cursor (tracking camera).		Notes
Cinematic camera	Different, fixed camera positions are set during the game’s creation for a maximum cinematic effect. These positions cannot be controlled by the player.		Notes
Fixed / flip-screen	These games use a single, fixed screen to show a specific level or scene. A level can also be larger than a single fixed screen, in this case when the player reaches the end of the screen the whole screen is "flipped" (replaced by a new fixed screen).
Free-roaming camera	The camera is under the player's control and does not follow a specific target. The player is able to freely slide/scroll/rotate through the environment. While zooming is also a part of it, zooming is not sufficient by itself.
Isometric	These games use an isometric, trimetric or dimetric two dimensional perspective to create a pseudo 3D effect. Although often used to represent a certain viewpoint incorporating a bird’s-eye view by default, the focus is entirely on using 2D to create a 3D effect. A game that uses 3D, for characters or backgrounds, is not isometric by default.		Notes

Art style

MobyGames Category	PCGW Category	Definition to be modified	Notes	Examples
Anime / manga	Anime	These games use a traditionally "Japanese" style of Japanese animation ("Japanimation" or "Anime"), Japanese comics ("Manga"), or the adult oriented “Hentai”.
Augmented reality	Augmented reality	Augmented reality (AR) is an art style introducing live direct or indirect view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements are "augmented" by computer-generated perceptual information.
Full Motion Video (FMV)	Full motion video (FMV)	Games in which most of the game is presented as full motion video (FMV) or other forms of animations as well as live action. Many of these games are interactive movies where the player can from time to time choose a path to take with minimal or timed input. It also covers games where most of the game content is shown through full motion video. This art style refers to the gameplay content, not the cut-scenes.
Live action	Live action	Games where a large part of the interactive gameplay makes use of live action scenes. This is an art style for videography that uses real actors in footage shot with cameras. It can be complemented with CGI, but the actors themselves are not animated. This art style is not related to the use of motion capture to animate characters. Digitised characters also do not apply. The live action scenes need to be part of the interactive gameplay. Games that use live action scenes exclusively for static cut-scenes use the game group Live action cut-scenes instead. A large amount of games with Live action as an art style for the interactive gameplay carry the art style Full Motion Video in addition. It is also used for Chromakey recordings with actors against a video backdrop or an animated background, as long as the actors are part of interactive gameplay sequences.
Video backdrop	Video backdrop	Games where the interactive gameplay largely or entirely takes place against a backdrop with recorded footage. The footage can be edited or enhanced, but it needs to have been recorded with cameras. These games then have other elements in the foreground, either animated characters, vehicles or other elements, or live action actors brought into the game using chromakey. This genre is not to be used for titles where in interactive parts both the actors and the environment are filmed together. It also does not apply to games where the video backdrop is only used for cut-scenes and not the gameplay itself.

Pacing

MobyGames Category	PCGW Category	Definition to be modified	Notes	Examples
Meditative / zen	Relaxed	Meditative or Zen games try to calm or relax players. These types of games often have no goals and players can't do anything wrong inside the game.
Persistent	Persistent	Persistent games’ mechanics continue even when the player is not playing the game. Either the game state is simulated on a remote server or the changes over time are calculated when the player returns to playing.
Real-time	Real-time	Real-Time games present the game continuously, as opposed to in turns like a game of Chess. This descriptor is not to be used on action games, which are inherently real-time. In some cases the player can still pause the game at any given time.
Turn-based	Turn-based	Turn-Based games are divided in turns. Players can usually only interact with the game during their turn.

Gameplay

MobyGames Category	PCGW Category	Definition to be modified	Notes	Examples
4X	4X	By definition, 4X is the abbreviation of eXploration, eXpansion, eXploitation, and eXtermination, a term originally coined by Alan Emrich. In terms of use and practice, 4X is some what more complex and may have expanded from its original definition. Traditionally 4X was first popularly used to identify strategy games such as Sid Meier's Civilization and Master of Orion, although 4X games by its characteristics may have existed far earlier than the aforementioned games.
Action RPG	Action RPG	Action RPGs are Role Playing games with more focus on real-time action elements (such as combat and exploration) than most Role Playing games.
Arcade	Arcade refers not to games that originated as arcade machines, but to action games with very simple gameplay interaction similar to coin-op arcade games. These games usually require little puzzle solving or tactical thinking and rely solely on the “twitch” gameplay. Related sub-genres include Maze games and Paddle/Pong games.
Artillery	(Remove?)	Artillery games are (usually turn-based) tactical games in which the players try to damage each other by shooting artillery shells or other weaponry influenced by gravity over large distances. Usually players give an angle at which to fire and a velocity. External factors such as terrain obstructions and wind force have to be taken into consideration
Beat 'em up / brawler	Brawler	Beat 'em ups - also known as Brawlers - focus on melee combat with a large number of antagonists. Usually players can perform a wide variety of combat moves and combos to hurt the opponents. These games are usually divided into levels similar to platform games or action games. Beat ‘em ups are not to be confused with Versus Fighting games which offer balanced arena fights between equally balanced teams or single characters.
Board game	Board game	Board games are usually strategy/tactics games with a strong focus on multi-player. Often they are direct translations of physical Board games. Related sub-genres are Cards, Chess and Game Show.